bradley



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. W. BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LADY S BUSTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 26,159, dated November 22, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. BRADLEY, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ladies Bustles;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is atop view of a bustle constructed according to my invention showing it inthe condition it assumes on the body, in wear. Fig. 2, is a longitudinalview of the same taken looking toward the inner side. Fig. 8, representsthe bustle folded for packing or putting away. Fig. et, represents one0f the metal clasps employed in the bustle.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

My invention consists in the combination of a waist band, and a spiralspring tapered from the middle toward each end, substantially ashereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The waist band is composed of two strips of spring steel cz, a, of alength nearly sufficient to encircle the waist, arranged parallel ornearly so with each other and having their extremities connected withtwo straps Z), c, which are furnished with hooks and eyes or otherfastenings to secure it upon the waist and, if necessary, to adjust itto the proper size. The strips a., a, are kept sep- `arate for thegreater portion of their length to permit the attachment of the spiralspring A, to them by the metal clasps d, d. The spring A, which givesform to the bustle should preferably be made of a single strip of steel,and if made of more than one piece the pieces should be united togethersecurely by the clasps (Z, CZ, which attach the spring to the strips c,a, or by other metal clasps provided for the purpose. The length of thespring between the terminal coils of the spiral should be sufficient toextend about 01 more than half way around the body, the middle coilbeing as large as may be desired, say from three to four inches indiameter and the other coils gradually diminishing in size toward theterminal ones which may be as small as desired, say one inch indiameter. The extremities of the spring are secured to the terminalcoils by clasps f, f. One of the strips a, a, of the band may be passedthrough the spring A, inside of all the coils and the other along theoutside or both of the said strips may be-inside or both outside of thecoils. The clasps cl, d, are made of metal plate in the form of crossesas shown in Fig. 4, with lips e, e, Figs. 2, and 4L, to lap over thestrips a, a., on each side of every coil and over every coil above andbelow each strip a.

The bustle thus constructed possesses many advantages over the bustleshaving a somewhat similar appearance made of a combination of bows andrings. In those bustles the rings being held in place by metal slidesare very liable to be displaced when,the bustle is in wear and cannotwell be readjusted by the wearer without taking off the outer garment atleast; but in this improved bustle the coils forming parts of acontinuous spring serve to preserve each others form and to keep eachother in place and thus insure the necessary stability while affordingall the flexibility that is necessary; and another advantage of thisbustle is that it can be folded so as to occupy a smaller space than anyother kind of bustle heretofore made with metallic springs, as the coilsof the spring will enter between each other when it is folded with theband outward as shown in Fig. 3.

I do not claim the invention of a bustle composed of bows and rings nordo I claim the employment in a bustle of cross shaped metal clasps, but

IVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-A bustle consisting of a waist-band composed in part of strips a., a, ofmetal or other elastic material, and a spiral spring A., tapered fromthe middle toward each end, applied to and combined with such waistbandsubstantially as herein described.

J. W. BRADLEY.

Vitnesses:

' WM. TUseH,

R. S. SPENCER.

